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" CHANGE GBARING Polt BIGYGLES. No-.'568;154. Patented Sept. 22, 1896.

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`1\0.5 s8,154. Patented sept.22,1896. g/

NiTnD STATES 1in-ien.V

:ATENT BRADY AND MARY E. BRADY, TRUSTEE, OF SAME PLACE.

, CHANGE-Gemme FORBIOYCLE-s.

SPECIFIGATON forming part of Letters Patent No. 568,154, dated September 22, 1896. t

Application filed December 17, 1895.1 Serial No. 572,404. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: n

Be it knownthat I, VICTOR BLANGER, of

Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Change-Gearing for Bicycles, 'of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to change-gearings for bicycleslof the type shown in l'ietterslatf` ent of the UnitedStates granted to me June 18, 1895," No. 541,260, and has forits object to provide an improvedconstruction of chan gen gearing A'whereby greater compactness and durability are secured, as well as a dust-proofconstru'ctio'n, the chief obj ect being to include the entire mechanism of the change-'gearing within the Space inclosed bya standard hu'b, such as is employed for the rear wheel of the Columbia and other standard bicycles.

The invention consists in the improvements which I will now 4proceed to describe and claim. f l

Ofthe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a longitudinal section of the hub of a bicycle driving-wheel lprovided with my improve-- ments. Fig. 2 represents a section on` line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 represents a sectionon line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4t represents a perl` spective view of the coupling device anda portion of the axle, the latter being shown partially in section. Fig. 5 represents an elevation of a portion of the construction shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 represents asectional Vview corresponding 5to' Fig; 2, showing different means for maintaining a self-adjusting connection betweenthe" huband the eccentric strap or'sleeve within the hub. Fig. 7 represents a sectionon line 7,7 of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 representsa longitudinal section showinga different arrangement of `a`.ntifriction-bear ings. p inafter referred to. Fig.-` 9 represents a sec` tion on line 9 9 lof Fig. 8. Figs. 10 and 11 represent top views of a portion of the construction shown inl Fig. 8. Fig. 12 represents a longitudinal section showing a different arrangement of the gears.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

v In the drawings, andreferring rst to Figs.

Figs.V 8A and SBi-epresent details here-` 1 to 7, a represents the hub of the rear Wheel of a bicycle, said hub being mounted to rotate on a fixed axle b, which is fastened, as usual, to the frame of the bicycle. A sleeve eis mounted loosely on the axle b within the hub c and has an enlarged end e projecting from the hub, To the enlarged end of said sleeve is affixed a small sprocket-wheel f for engage- I,ment with theusual drivin g chain, and on the inner end of the sleeve Within the hub there are formed pinion-teeth g. l

7t`represents an eccentric which is loosely `mounted on'thefaxle b within the hub ct.. i represents a strap er sleeve which sur- ,rounds theeccentric and is mounted on ballj bearings interposed between its inner surface and the periphery of the eccentric.

sleeve t' is affixed an internal gear c", which is in mesh with the pinion g. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the eccentric strap or sleeve carries an arm 2, which is movable in a hollow guide 4, affixed to the hub c, and has aslot t'which receives a stud or pin 5, affixed to the guide, the said arm and guide constituting a selfadjusting connection between the eccentric andthe hub. An equivalentconnection is shown in Fig. 6, in which the eccentric strap or sleeve has a series of teeth 7 and the hub a series of orifices is, formed tO engage` said teeth.

nrepresents a rod which is movable in a longitudinal orifice formed for its reception in the axle b, and is provided with coupling ldevices adapted to lock the eccentric h to the axle and the sprocket-`wheel f to the hub. `Said coupling devices comprise, first, an arm n', whichisa'ffixed to the rod n `and is mov- ,able therewith in a slot b', formed in the axle b, said` arm' having a tooth n2, formed to entera recess h2 inthe eccentric h, and, secondly, arms n3 n3, connected by a hub or platel n4 and provided with teeth nl of, formed to enter recesses nSnS in one end of the hub a, the said hub or plate n4 being mounted loosely on a grooved collar fc5, which is movable on the axle h andis connected with the rod n bya piu n, passing through slots h2 in the axle. The collar 715 and arnis n3 are'movable in a chamber f in the enlarged end e of the sleeve c and rotate with said sleeve and with the sprocket affixed thereto.

IOO

The operation is as follows: In the normal Acondition of parts the sprocket-wheel is locked to the hub a by the teeth a7, and the tooth n2 is withdrawn from the eccentric 7L, as shown in Fig. l. Under' these conditions power applied to rotate the pinion gis transmitted directly to the hub, the pinion and internal gear remaining in engagement at one side of the axis, and the bicycle is propelled the same as though the sprocket-wheel was permanently affixed to the hub, as usual.

To obtain increased power for hill-climbing or other purpose, the rider by moving the operating-rod a in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 engages the detenta2 with the recess h2 of the eccentric. W'hen this takes place, the eccentric is held stationary, the arms n3 n3 being at the same time displaced to disconnect the sprocket-wheel from the hub, and then the pinion g turns the internal gear on the eccentric and the motion is transmitted through lsaid gear to the wheel, the described self-adjusting connection between the hub and the internal gear permitting the internal gear to move laterally or at right angles to its axis, as required by its rotation on the fixed eccentric.

It will be seen that the tooth or detent n2 constitutes a coupling device adapted to lock the eccentric to the axle, while the teeth a7 a7 constitute a coupling device adapted to lock the sprocket and driving-pinion to the hub, said coupling devices being alternately operative, so that when the sprocket and drivinggear are locked to the hub the eccentric is loose and when the eccentric is locked to the axle the sprocket and driving-pinion are adapted to rotate independently of the hub.

The rod n may be moved endwise to operate the said coupling devices by any suitable means. I have here shown a lever p, connected at p to an arm p2, affixed to the axle and engaged with the outer end of the rod fn. Said lever may be extended to any point wiere it may be conveniently reached by the r1 er.

The described construction is compact and is practically dust-proof. Ball-bearings i" 7" are provided between the sleeve e and the hub to minimize the friction when the sprocket and driving-pinion are rotating independently of the hub. Similar bearings r fr are interposed between the eccentric hand sleeve t. Both the hub and the sleeve are provided with suitable seats for the balls r r', as shown in Fig. l. The end port-ions of the hub rest, as usual, on balls r3 r3, interposed between suitable seats on the hub and-axle.

In Figs. 8 and 9 I show the eccentric 7i', provided at one end with a tubular extension h4, closely fitting the axle Z), and at the other end with an extension 71,5 of greater diameter, inclosing the detent n2. rlhe outer ends of the said extensions are provided with seats 716 71,6 for the balls r3 r3. Rollers r4 are interposed between the eccentric and the sleeve c', and balls rs T5 are interposed between the sleeve e and suitable ball-seats affixed to the hub. The clutch n3 is engaged in this case with a collar n10, which is adapted to slide on the axle and on which the clutch is adapted to rotate. A flange on said collar is grasped by a yoke w12, Fig. SB, affixed to the rod n, with which are pivotally connected arms 'm13 'als on a rod n, which extends upwardly to a point Where it can be reached and partially rotated by the rider, said rod being journaled in a bearing or bearings nl, Fig. 8A, on the frame of the machine. The upper end of the rod 77.14 is provided with a suitable handle n, which is preferably adapted to be locked to a detent a on the bearing a, to hold the rods nl* and n in the high-gear adjustment wit-h the detent n2 engaged with the eccentric 72., the rod n being pressed outwardly by a spring 71,18, which normally disengages the detent from the eccentric. The extensions 7b4 705 of the eccentric materially add to the strength of the construction.

In Fig. 12 I show a reversal of the arrangement of the gears, the pinion (designated gw) being affixed to the strap or sleeve i, while the internal gear (designated 7110) is affixed to the sprocket-carrying sleeve e. The detent n2 is normally held in engagement with the eccentric and the clutch n3 out of engagement with the sprocket-wheel by means of a spring nl, so that normally motion is communicated from the sprocket-wheel to the hub through the sleeve e, the gears 10 glo, and the selfadjusting connection between the strap or sleeve i and the hub, namely, the teeth i7 and orifices is or their equivalent. (Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.) Vhen the rod n is displaced from its normal position, the sprocket is locked to the hub and the gears become inoperative. In other respects the construction is or may be the same as that shown in Fig. 8.

I claiml. The combination of a fixed axle, a hub mounted to rotate thereon, an eccentric rotatable on the axle, an actuating-wheel at one end of the hub, two intermeshin g gears within the hub, one affixed to the actuating-wheel and the other rotatable on the eccentric, a self-adjusting connection between the lastmentioned gear and the hub, with provision for independent lateral movement of said gear, a rod longitudinally movable in the axle, and a coupling device engaged with said rod and adapted to lock the eccentric to the axle.

2. The combination of a fixed axle, a hub mounted to rotate thereon, an eccentric rotatable on the axle, an actuating-wheel at one end of the hub, two intermeshing gears within the hub, one affixed to the actuatingwheel and the other rotatable on the eccentric, a self-adjusting connection between the last-mentioned gear and the hub, with provision for independent lateral movement of said gear, a rod longitudinally movable in the axle, and two alternately-operative coupling devices engaged with vsaid rod and adapted ICO IIO

respectively to lock-the eccentric to the axle and sprocket and :its connected gear to the hub.

` 3. The combination of a xed axle, a hub mounted to rotate thereon, a driving-pinion loosely mounted on the axle and having a sleeve extending beyond the hub, an actuatingwheel affixed to the lsaid sleeve, antifric tion-bearings between the sleeve and hub, an eccentric rotatable on the axle, an internal gear rotatable within the hub and meshing with the driving-pinion, said internal gear having a sleeve or extension inclosing the eccentric, antifriction-bearings interposed between the eccentric and the sleeve of the internal gear, a self-adjusting connection between the internal gear, and hub, and means for locking the eccentric to the axle.

4. The combination of a fixed axle, a hub mounted to rotate thereon, antifriction-bearings between the hub and axle, an eccentric rotatable on the axle and provided with tubular extensions having seats at their outer ends in contact with the said antifrictionbearings, a driving-pinion rotatable on one of said extensions and having a sleeve extended from one end of the hub, an actuating-wheel affixed to said sleeve, an internal gear supported by and rotatable about the eccentric and meshing with the driving-pinion, a self-adjusting connection between the internal gear and hub, and means for locking the eccentric to the axle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 13th day of December, A. D. 1895.

vieron BLANGER. l/Vitnesses:

M. E. BRADY, C. F. BROWN. 

